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Ulster University is taking the unusual step of using its honours degree ceremony to confer awards on seven educationists, in recognition of a profession it believes to be under "intense pressure". Trevor Smith, Ulster's vice chancellor, said: "We are aware that no other university in the United Kingdom has used its conferment system to honour a profession rather than an individual. However, we believe teaching is at the forefront of the changes in our society, yet the profession at all levels is being subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny and to intense pressure on resources."